Builders of U.S.S. Pierre get tour of ship's namesake

419-foot combat ship named for South Dakota's capital city nearing completion

Pierre Mayor Steve Harding gives a presentation about the USS Pierre at the American Legion cabin. (Austin Goss/The Dakota Scout)

PIERRE — Representatives from Austal USA found themselves thousands of miles from home Tuesday, in the South Dakota city their boat will be named after.

The Mobile, Alabama-based company is tasked with building the Navy’s latest and final littoral combat ship (LCS). The model is used by the military for close shore operations, and designed for mine countermeasures, anti-submarine warfare and surface warfare missions.

The U.S.S. Pierre, to be based in San Diego, will be used for mine sweeping.

“The U.S.S. Pierre has been in the works for several years now,” said Pierre Mayor Steve Harding. He and other members of the commissioning committee he appointed attended the ship’s keel laying last summer. “This is something that puts Pierre on the map.”

NEWS: Short Veto Day puts bow on 2024 legislative session